The prozonstrodontians form part of the larger group of therapsids, probainognathians, a group
of cynodont (dog - like) therapsids that evolved a large cerebellum and lost the parietal foramen for the third eye (an organ on the skull roof that detects light for monitoring thermoregulation and daily rhythms such as sleep).
Not exact matches
270 to 252 million years ago, the therapsids consisted
of six subgroups, one
of which, the
cynodonts, gave rise to mammals.
One
of the lineages, the dicynodonts, is now extinct, but the other one, the
cynodonts, gave rise to the mammals.
The site contains abundant fossils, diverse assemblages
of Triassic animals including relatives
of crocodylians, giant - headed amphibians and ancient relatives
of modern mammals called
cynodonts.
The pelycosaur group died out at the end
of the Permian, but another group
of synapsids, the
cynodonts, went on to give rise to the mammals eventually.
Then they compared the two endocasts with those for seven fossils
of early
cynodonts — carnivorous reptiles that are close relatives
of the first mammals — as well as with endocasts for 27 other primitive mammals that lived between 65 million and 190 million years ago and with the brains
of 270 living mammals.
The most primitive mammals probably appeared in the late Triassic, descending from a mammal - like suborder
of theraspid reptiles known as
cynodonts.
cynodont A group
of long - extinct therapsid reptiles with some mammal - like features.